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Inner sherd of a clay vessel

Wall sherd. The fragment has been smoothed, slurried and primed on both sides. Its exterior is painted and polished. The paint and primer are partially eroded. The pottery has a cinnamon-coloured base, which is painted black and red. The fragment is decorated with two parallel bands coloured red and black. A red, U-shaped decoration is attached to the black band, which appears to depict the coiled and dotted body of a snake-like creature. According to Lothrop 1926: highland polychrome ware, two headed monster. Cultural significance: the pottery of the Mora group was produced in the north-west of Costa Rica and traded to the Central Highlands and the Atlantic region of the country. It uses design elements (seated anthropomorphic figures with headdresses, mat motif, Kan cross) that are also known from the Maya ceramics (Copador group) of the Clásico Tardío (900-600d.C.). The variant has been documented both in burials and in settlement contexts. It does not occur in Nicaragua. (Künne 2004)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Inner sherd of a clay vessel
Dimensions
Height: 6,1 cm
Depth: 0,9 cm
Width: 5,7 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 47904 m

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    when
    Policromo Medio (800 - 1350)
    where
    Costa Rica
    Guanacaste
    Sardinal
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    American Archaeology

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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